


Red Color of the Sun

by callalily_flower



Series: This Found Family Keeps Getting Bigger, Stop Bringing in More Kids [2]
Category: Day6 (Band), GOT7, TWICE (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop & Tattoo Parlor, Alternate Universe - Tattoo Parlor, F/F, JYP ensemble - Freeform, Relationship insecurity, Teen for some swearing, not to at myself but wlw are terrible at noticing a girl is interested, only the super relevant characters are tagged, the second chapter has most of the characters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-02
Updated: 2020-01-18
Packaged: 2021-02-25 05:07:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22090522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/callalily_flower/pseuds/callalily_flower
Summary: Nayeon can't tell if Jeongyeon likes her the same way Nayeon does. She also can't tell if she's gay.
Relationships: Im Nayeon/Yoo Jeongyeon, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Series: This Found Family Keeps Getting Bigger, Stop Bringing in More Kids [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1590049
Comments: 4
Kudos: 53





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this fic has been sitting mostly done for like a year so i figured it's finally time i get around to posting it
> 
> okay so song lyric titles are kinda cheesy but i was drawing a blank and then it just felt right. so it's part of nayeon's first line from fancy
> 
> EDIT 9/18/20 IMPORTANT  
> so i'm super fucking busy and i haven't found the time to fix it but i _will_ be changing woojin to an oc that i haven't named yet. i was going to straight up write him out but then realized there were important scenes he was in and i didn't want to have to rewrite the scenes. believe and support the victims during this time and always. (i don't remember if i mentioned him in this fic so just to cover my bases)

Jaebeom throws an empty business card holder at Nayeon, “Stop moping and fucking ask her out,”

“I don’t even know if she swings that way though,” Nayeon complains from her position on the YoungSoul’s couch.

“Well figure it out, we aren’t here to listen to your problems,”

“No one is here, that much is obvious,” Nayeon mutters. “Where is everyone?”

“Dowoon and Brian took today off to visit Dowoon’s family in Busan and YugBam are celebrating Youngjae’s new job,”

“All day?” Jaebeom gives her a flat stare, “Right this is Bambam we’re talking about,”

The day was the perfect type of day for everyone to take off, there were no appointments and there hadn’t been more than 5 walk-ins.

Nayeon groans, “How do you tell if a girl likes you though? I’ve always been bad at that,”

“You’re asking the wrong person,” Nayeon rolls her eyes, “But I might be able to help you figure out how she swings,”

Her face lights up, “Really? You would?”

“If it gets you off my back about Jinyoung I would buy you that ₩100,000 makeup palette for you,” at her mischievous look he back pedals, “No, ask me again in a few months,”

Nayeon is busy working on some sort of homework, Jaebeom can’t tell from his position at the register and he doesn’t care enough to ask. The bell above the door dings, bringing in a young-looking girl.

Jaebeom lifts his chin off his hand and tries to look friendly but, if Nayeon’s derisive snort is anything to go by, he’s failing.

“I was wondering if I could set up an appointment?” the girl says timidly.

Jaebeom gestures her closer to the counter and they get talking about what she wants. A short ten minutes later, she is walking out with an appointment card in hand and her name, Chaeyoung, in the computer for her appointment tomorrow.

Jaebeom turns to Nayeon, “She might be bi but she’s definitely into girls,”

Nayeon glares at him, “How do you know that? You barely talked to her for ten minutes,”

Jaebeom shrugs, “She was wearing an oversized jacket with a rainbow pin over a crop top. Also a rainbow heart tattoo in the style she wants is not really a straight girl tattoo.”

“Okay, I’ll concede that you seem to know what you’re doing, but how do I get you and Jeongyeon to meet so you can work whatever magic that just was?”

“You’re smart. Figure something out,” Nayeon pulls her pouting face out, immediately making Jaebeom groan, “Suggest that you want to get a piercing and ask her to come with you?”

“Will you do it free?”

Jaebeom ponders, “I’ll charge you but when you get together with her, I’ll pay you back,” Nayeon gets a look on her face that Jaebeom recognizes from childhood, when she was building a story that placed all the blame squarely on Jaebeom’s shoulders. “If she also gets something I will not be paying her back when you get together,”

Nayeon pouts, “Fine,”

The rest of the day remains quiet and Nayeon stays to keep Jaebeom company. He is closing up while she packs her things up, “Jeongyeon and I should be in tomorrow,”

“Do you want us to pretend that we don’t know you?”

“Nah,” she says on her way out the door, “I’ll just say that I don’t trust you to care about my fear,”

“Here I am, helping you with your crush, and this is the thanks I get? Good luck getting my help again,”

Everyone is back the next day, exuding happiness. Chaeyoung is slightly early for her appointment and the others in the shop startle her.

Jaebeom emerges from his work room to greet her, “Everyone had yesterday off but they’re all back today. I can still do the tattoo for you if you would like, or Brian-hyung can,”

She gnaws on her lower lip nervously before answering quietly, “I’d like you to,”

He smiles at her before gesturing her to sit, “I just need a few minutes to set up,”

Brian has his own appointment coming in the next 10 minutes so Jaebeom gathers the supplies he’ll need from Brian’s work room and gets set up in his own. As soon as everything is in order he gestures Chaeyoung to join him. She sits hesitantly in the chair, looking uncomfortable.

“If you aren’t sure about this we don’t have to. You shouldn’t get a tattoo unless you are completely committed to the idea,”

Jaebeom sees her shoulders set, “I want to, I’m just a little nervous,”

“You wanted this on your shoulder?” She hesitantly reaches for the hem of her shirt, “I can’t tattoo through fabric,” she still looks nervous about it, “The first day we were open I gave a girl nipple piercings, and I most definitely didn’t do that through fabric,”

A smile pulls at her lips as she removes her shirt, gesturing to the part of her left shoulder she wanted the design on. Jaebeom positions the transfer guide and holds up a mirror for her to check. She nods, and he transfers the image onto her skin and gets comfortable as Chaeyoung lays back on the chair.

“Just relax,” he says, “and if you feel light headed or sick, let me know,”

Normally he would try to keep a small conversation going, but with the position of the tattoo, talking wouldn’t be the smartest idea. He is almost finished up, the whole process going smoothly, when there is a knock on his work room door. He pauses in his double checking for any missed spots, “Yeah?”

Dowoon’s voice comes back through the door, “Your sister is here,”

“She can wait a few minutes,” he calls back, “I’m almost done,” After he is satisfied that he didn’t miss any spots, he grabs the mirror again, holding it so Chaeyoung can see the finished tattoo. At her smile Jaebeom starts bandaging it up and explaining her aftercare. He helps her pull her shirt on and opens the door. “Dowoon will ring you out and can get you a care sheet,”

Chaeyoung smiles at him once more before she heads over to Dowoon.

“I’ll be just a minute,” Jaebeom calls to Nayeon as he cleans up his work room of ink and wipes down everything. He goes over it a second time just to be sure before he sits with Nayeon and the girl with her who must be Jeongyeon, “What do you want today?”

She looks to Jeongyeon nervously, “Here,” she points to the tragus on her left ear, “Can I do both sides?”

Jaebeom squints at her, “Yeah we can do both sides,” He gestures for her to follow him to the counter to look at the jewelry. “You can’t wear any sort of headphones or earbuds until they heal. We can switch to flat backed jewelry then if you want to wear anything in ear,”

Nayeon picks out the jewelry she wants, checking with Jeongyeon to see if she thinks it will look nice. Jeongyeon nods and grins at Nayeon.

“Would you like to sit in with Nayeon?” Jaebeom directs towards Jeongyeon.

She startles, “Um, if that’s alright,”

He smirks, “Let’s go then,”

Bambam watches forlornly, knowing that with Jeongyeon in there, he would be one too many bodies in the work room. Which is a shame since the tragus isn’t something he pierces all that often.

Nayeon settles into the chair and Jeongyeon stands next to her, holding on to her right hand as Jaebeom gets set up on her left side.

“Ready?” At Nayeon’s nod, he gets his needle ready, “On my count, breathe in. One. Two. Three,”

On three, Nayeon takes a breath and squeezes Jeongyeon’s hand. Jaebeom is busying himself with fitting the jewelry into the piercing when Nayeon releases her shaky breath.

“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” he smiles down at his sister.

“You didn’t say I would hear the pop so loudly,” she accuses him.

“I don’t actually have this piercing,” he holds his hands up in defense, “I wouldn’t know but it is right next to your ear canal,” He directs his attention to Jeongyeon, “Time to trade spots,”

She nods and circles around the front of the chair while Jaebeom goes around the back. The other ear goes just as smoothly as the first, and he holds up a mirror for her to check out the new piercing.

“Aren’t you supposed to ask if they like the placement beforehand?” Nayeon teases.

“On every other piercing? Yes. This one is going on such a small part that there isn’t much wiggle room on placement,” He opens the door, gesturing the two out. Nayeon grins up at him, and grabs Jeongyeon’s hand as she pulls her out of the room. “She’s paying for both of those Dowoon! No family discounts!”

She turns to make a face at him briefly before going to pay Dowoon. On their way out, Nayeon calls out goodbyes to all the guys in the shop while Jeongyeon waves to them all.

“Do I have any appointments coming in?” Jaebeom asks after he cleans his work room up.

Dowoon shakes his head, “Was that Jeongyeon with her?”

“Nayeon didn’t know if she was gay so she wanted my opinion,”

Bambam’s head shoots up, “She couldn’t tell if Jeongyeon was gay? The girl was wearing a flannel and combat boots! Plus that pixie cut!”

Jaebeom sends a deadpan look at his apprentice while gesturing towards Dowoon.

“…Your argument is valid,” Bambam returns to whatever he had been doing while Dowoon is protesting.

The phone ringing cuts Dowoon’s protests off. Jaebeom pulls his phone out to text Nayeon, not only that Jeongyeon is gay but also that she’s really into Nayeon.

“Hyung,” he looks up from his phone to see Dowoon holding the store phone out to him. Jaebeom makes a face to ask who it is but Dowoon merely shrugs.

He takes it and traps it between his shoulder and ear as he finishes his text, “This is Jaebeom, how can I help you?”

The voice that responds is not one Jaebeom was expecting, “Hi, I was wondering if I could set up an appointment to get the same piercing Nayeon-unnie got,”

“Ah, Jeongyeon-ssi,” Jaebeom lets everyone know who’s on the phone. Dowoon does a double take. “When did you want to come in for that?”

“Nayeon-unnie is at her apartment and she should be studying there for the rest of the night. Can I come in now?”

“That works, see you soon,” Jaebeom hangs up and everyone is looking at him. Brian has finally emerged from his work room, the woman is the same one who was getting a full back tattoo around when Dowoon and Brian got together, but this time it was a moderately large one on her thigh. She pays and waves on her way out.

Brian has draped him across Dowoon’s back, “What drama have I been missing?”

“Nayeon came and got her tragus pierced and brought Jeongyeon in so hyung could tell her if she was gay,” Bambam sums up.

“You mean I missed seeing Jeongyeon?” Brian frowns.

“She’s coming back,” Jaebeom says, “She wants the same piercing,”

Bambam looks like he’s about to say something, but he cuts off when the bell above the door. They all turn their attention to the door to find Jeongyeon standing there, “Am I interrupting something?”

“Just gossip,” Jaebeom says as he pushes himself off the counter where he was leaning. He waves her over, “I know you saw the jewelry options before, but what did you want?” She points out one that complements the pair that Nayeon got earlier but he says nothing. They walk towards his work room and he waves for Bambam to join them, “This is my apprentice, Bambam. He hasn’t seen this type of piercing done before, is it okay if he joins us?”

Jeongyeon nods and the three of them file in. Jaebeom talks everything through for Bambam’s benefit. Just before he pierces her left side he pauses, “Ready?”

Her face is set, and she nods slightly, he counts off for her to take a breath when he pierces. Bambam leans in to see how he fits the jewelry in. The two of them circle to the other side of the chair, “Here we go again,” Jaebeom starts counting as Bambam watches closely.

Once the jewelry is fit in and Jaebeom pulls the mirror out for her again, she smiles widely, “I love it. Thank you,”

Bambam is starting to clean up for Jaebeom, while Jeongyeon shifts her feet a little, “Bam,” Jaebeom calls his attention, “I’ll handle this,”

Bambam gives Jaebeom a skeptical look but leaves the work room, shutting the door behind him. Jeongyeon opens her mouth to start speaking, only for Jaebeom to hold up a hand. He smacks the wood of the door and twin cries of shock sound through the door while laughing echoes through the rest of the main room.

Jeongyeon giggles slightly, “I know Nayeon-unnie is close to everyone in the shop. I don’t want this getting back to her,”

“This as in what you’re going to say or as in the complementary piercings you got?” Jaebeom smirks.

Jeongyeon flushes, “Both for now. I’m going to see her tomorrow, so she’ll see these then,” Jaebeom smiles as she plays with the hem of her slightly overlarge flannel, “I don’t know how to say this though,”

“Before you bare your soul, let me tell you that Nayeon has been waxing nearly poetic for months about you,” Jeongyeon flushes more, “And she was hanging out here yesterday complaining because she wasn’t sure how you swung. That’s why she brought you here today, so I could confirm for her that yes you do like girls,”

Jeongyeon does a pretty good imitation of a fish before she can finally get words out, “That makes this so much easier to say. I was gonna ask you if Nayeon liked girls because I really do like her,”

“Please ask her out,” Jaebeom thinks back on the text he sent Nayeon, “Though she might try to do the same when she sees you next,”

Jeongyeon smiles and she stands up while Jaebeom opens the door, “Eavesdropping is rude,” he says as Brian and Bambam try to look innocent. Dowoon and Yugyeom start to crack up laughing again.

Jeongyeon pays for the piercings and waves.

Everyone looks to Jaebeom once Jeongyeon is out of sight, “Nayeon’s gonna have a girlfriend next time we see her. She just doesn’t know yet,”

Jaebeom hasn’t heard anything from Nayeon since he texted her when she left YoungSoul. The next morning, he opens Instagram on the off chance that Nayeon posted something there.

Right at the top of his feed is a post from Nayeon, Jeongyeon kissing her cheek. Nayeon has it captioned, “Ya girl has a girlfriend now!”

Jaebeom smiles as he likes it and leaves a comment, “What did I tell you?” He’s sure he won’t hear the end of it from her whenever he sees her again.

Nayeon drags Jeongyeon back into YoungSoul the next day. Jaebeom is sitting in the stool next to Dowoon behind the counter while Brian glares at him.

Nayeon brings her hands down on the counter in front of her brother.

“Hey!” Brian yells, “I like my counter intact!”

“I can’t believe I didn’t set better provisions when I agreed to this,” Jaebeom mutters, handing over ₩65,000 to his sister.

Everyone looks between the siblings in confusion, but it is Dowoon that breaks the silence, but he doesn’t know which way to take his question, “Hyung?”

“She didn’t know if Jeongyeon liked girls,” Jaebeom starts.

“Really?” Yugyeom asks.

Jaebeom simply gestures to Dowoon and Brian before he continues, ignoring their protests, “I told her if she brought Jeongyeon into the shop I would be able to tell whether or not she liked girls. She decided a new piercing was the best way for that to happen.” Jaebeom sighs, “So I told her she would have to pay but when they got together I would pay her back. But I didn’t set the basic rule of only one piercing so she got both ears done and took advantage of me,”

Jeongyeon looks to her girlfriend, “He did make the rule that he wouldn’t refund you if you also got something,” Nayeon says, “He covered that base,”

“Not what I was gonna say,” Jeongyeon says, “You couldn’t tell I was gay?” She turns her attention to Jaebeom, “And why does pointing to those to explain away the disbelief of her not knowing if I was gay?”

“You didn’t know if Nayeon was gay either, don’t be cocky,” The apprentices snicker between themselves across the room, while Jaebeom explains, “They pined after each other for almost two months. Brian-hyung thought Dowoon was straight and Dowoon was convinced Brian-hyung wasn’t into him in the same way,”

“It was painful to watch,” Jinyoung’s voice comes from the entrance.

Nayeon’s face lights up, “Oppa!” she pulls him farther into the shop, “Come meet Jeongyeon,”

Jinyoung and Jeongyeon exchange greetings. “I’m glad you and Nayeon are finally together. She would come in next door to wax poetic about you nearly every day,”

Nayeon struggles to stop Jinyoung from continuing as Jeongyeon chuckles, “I guess everyone has a story to embarrass Nayeon with then,”

“If you keep coming by we can tell you all of them,” Bambam says from his position on the couch with Yugyeom.

The shop devolves into chaos, Nayeon trying to stop her embarrassing stories from being told. Jinyoung takes Jeongyeon to meet Wonpil since he can’t leave Sprout of Heaven and Jaebeom slides up to Nayeon.

“I’m happy for you, but as your brother I’m obligated to embarrass you,”

“I’ll return the favor when you and Jinyoung get together,”

Jaebeom’s protest is cut off by Jeongyeon falling into Nayeon’s side, “Did you really consider going all out and getting a whole bouquet of roses?”

“Jinyoung-oppa! I told you that in confidence!”

“It was cute, I think you should have followed through,” Jeongyeon smiles.

The rest of YoungSoul’s occupants erupt into laughter at Nayeon’s embarrassment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i definitely have more backstory for how they met but i didn't know how to incorporate that so could be another chapter later, could just be another fic but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it
> 
> also working title for this was "2yeon lesbian sheep" because i'm pretty sure i read somewhere that lesbian sheep don't know how to initiate things and just stand next to the sheep they're interested in and hope they notice
> 
> EDIT 1/18/20: second chapter with backstory for 2yeon's relationship


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The YoungSoul staff expose all of Nayeon's pining to Jeongyeon when she comes by alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was just supposed to be lighthearted roasting of nayeon and then suddenly it was kinda heavy but it ends happy i swear
> 
> i definitely sat down and wrote all of this instead of thinking about school in any capacity

The afternoon had been mostly quiet, as Tuesday afternoons usually are, with no walk-ins and only a handful of appointments. Brian and Jaebeom have both secluded themselves in their work rooms to work on new sketches for upcoming appointments.

As their store got more and more popular, Jaebeom was in higher demand for more tattoos in addition to piercings. Brian had let his piercing certification lapse so Bambam was doing most of the piercings while developing his skills for tattooing as well. Jaebeom was hesitant to let him anywhere near a tattoo gun yet which Brian says is par for the course in Jaebeom’s approach to tattoos.

“He didn’t give his first tattoo until his mentor forced him to nearly eight months into his apprenticeship.”

Yugyeom had left not too long ago for a new sketchbook, his most recent one full and nearly falling apart. Bambam was seated next to Dowoon, his own sketchbook open to an idea he had for Dowoon. Dowoon humored him under the condition that Brian didn’t find out until it was already on Dowoon’s skin.

When the bell went off with the opening of the door, the two both looked up. Dowoon waved brightly at Jeongyeon but frowned in confusion when the door closed behind her without Nayeon making her entrance.

“Hey Jeongyeon-noona!” Bambam greeted brightly.

“No Nayeon today?” Dowoon asked after his own exchanged greeting with Jeongyeon.

Jeongyeon shook her head and grabbed a stool to sit across from them. “She has a big project due at the end of the week and I’m not allowed in her apartment because apparently I’m a distraction.”

“Isn’t there a studio for the fashion students?”

“Yeah but she started it on her own sewing machine and if she changes machines halfway through the tension won’t be the same or something.” Jeongyeon waves off, “I wasn’t really listening when she was explaining yesterday because she was having me take her measurements so she knew she had the right ones.”

Dowoon and Bambam shared a look before failing to hold back their laughter.

“What?” Jeongyeon pouted.

“Nayeon had Junho-hyung take her measurements three weeks ago when she started the project.” Dowoon explained. “He used to work fashion shows and made her promise to always use him because you can’t take your own measurements. He didn’t trust anyone else to be helpful.”

Bambam caught his breath, “She just wanted an excuse to take her shirt off in front of you.”

Jeongyeon frowned, “Why would she need an excuse?”

Bambam sighed, “Oh honey.”

“Hey! I’m still older than you!”

Dowoon and Bambam are still laughing between themselves and Jeongyeon pouting at their refusal to enlighten her when Jaebeom emerges from his work room.

“Hey, Jeongyeon.” He greets, stretching his hand. “Where’s Nayeon?”

“Working on a project. I’m a distraction.” She continues pouting.

“And what are you idiots laughing about?”

There are twin exclamations of “Hey!” which Dowoon followed with “I’m telling Brian-hyung!”

“Nayeon had me take her measurements yesterday so she knew she had the right ones but they told me Junho-oppa took them three weeks ago and she just wanted an excuse to take her shirt off in front of me,” Jeongyeon sums up, “but they won’t tell me why she needed an excuse.”

Jaebeom sighs and mutters something to himself, setting Dowoon and Bambam off again.

Yugyeom walks back into the shop, several sketchbooks clutched to his chest. “Hi Jeongyeon-noona! Did you li-“ Bambam is off his stool and covering Yugyeom’s mouth in a second.

“What are you hiding from me?” Jeongyeon whines. She stomps her foot cutely in protest and honestly Jaebeom almost broke from that.

“Nayeon wanted to tell you herself,” Dowoon tells her. “We don’t want to take that away from her.”

“You want to hear about the first time she waxed poetic about you?” Jaebeom diverts.

She immediately perks up, “If you won’t tell me the other thing it’s the least you could do.”

“We didn’t open this store until December so Brian-hyung and I were just finishing up our apprenticeships and making plans for afterwards.” Jaebeom takes Bambam’s vacated stool while Bambam and Yugyeom sit on the couch. “I had a long day and almost knocked my sister out when I walked into my apartment and she was there, lying face down on my couch in the dark.”

“And yet…” Dowoon mutters.

“Shut up.” Jaebeom says as he smacks the back of Dowoon’s head. “Anyway it was like the third day of class or something. Through the summer we had decided to have dinner together once a week and I didn’t expect to continue into the school year so I worked late and she showed up anyway. But she told me about this cute girl in her calculus class.” Jaebeom shot a look at Jeongyeon. “Nayeon said this girl would sit in the second row but had a look of total disgust the entire time. And when she got asked a question I’m told, quoting Nayeon, ‘her voice was the most beautiful voice I’ve ever heard,’” Jaebeom puts air quotes around the last phrase.

“Oh my god,” Dowoon breathes out, not believing how ridiculously gone Nayeon had been for Jeongyeon. They had never exposed Nayeon’s pining to him so this is the first time he’s hearing this story as well.

“Whipped.” Bambam and Yugyeom say in unison.

Jeongyeon’s face betrays her confusion, “If she noticed me the first week of classes, why didn’t she ever talk to me?” her brow furrows, “We never spoke until a week before finals and she needed notes for a class she had missed.”

Jaebeom looks to the ceiling with a sigh, “She watched from afar. Meaning she sat a row behind you and tried to pay attention in class and not daydream the whole time. Judging from the fact she’s retaking calculus I’d say that didn’t work so well.”

“Don’t bully my girlfriend!” Jeongyeon pouts as Bambam, Yugyeom, and Dowoon all snicker.

“She’s my sister and she deserves to be exposed like this.” Jaebeom counters. “But when you walked in with blue hair in October.” He shook his head, “I thought she was going to combust.”

The bell over the door rings, bringing Jinyoung in on his break. “Hey, Jeongyeon. What’s up?”

“Jaebeom-hyung is exposing Nayeon-noona,” Bambam chirps from the couch.

Jinyoung laughs, “I’m pretty sure the blue hair almost killed her. She texted me a lot of incoherent key smashes.”

Bambam pipes up, “She stalked your Instagram once she found it in September. Harley Quinn for Halloween? Pretty sure she stopped breathing for a few minutes.”

“Stop interrupting,” Jaebeom talks over Bambam’s laughter. “If we detail every little thing we’ll be here the rest of the week. Broad overview of the semester. When she finally talked to you to ask for the notes she missed, her crush got so much worse because she started to get to know you better and it wasn’t a shallow crush based on looks alone anymore.”

“Not too long after that she came into Sprout of Heaven and started asking about all kinds of flowers for confessing.” Jinyoung cuts in, “Wonpil and I were getting tired of her just asking and not ordering one because it meant she hadn’t gotten up the nerve to just do it.”

Dowoon perks up at that, “I remember hyung complaining about someone who came in nearly everyday to ask about flowers and advice for confessing. I didn’t realize it was Nayeon because he never actually used a name.”

Brian emerges from his own work room and stops short upon seeing all the people around the counter. “What’s this party about?”

“Exposing how hopeless Nayeon was to Jeongyeon.” Jaebeom says.

“When did you know it was a serious crush?” Jeongyeon directs towards Brian. “Jaebeom-oppa says it was after she asked about the notes. Jinyoung-oppa says when she went to Sprout of Heaven almost every day.”

Brian contemplates a bit, “Shortly after we opened, I don’t remember what we were talking about but she asked if I was sure we couldn’t date. I told her I didn’t want to compete with you because she had been going on about you for months. That answer usually gets her to say that it’s no competition and I’m a clear winner. But this time she responded wishful that you would notice.” Brain smiles, “We’ve been doing that joke for a while and this was the first time I wasn’t a clear winner.”

Jeongyeon is quiet, pondering Brian’s answer. “Sometimes I wonder if we’re even in the same league.”

The men all stare at her in disbelief. Jinyoung’s phone buzzes on the counter. He groans after looking at the screen, “I have to go back so Wonpil can take a break and I will send him over here because we both know you two are so perfect for each other.”

The bell rings as the door closes behind Jinyoung. Jaebeom is the first to speak up, “Jinyoung is right. Nayeon and I have always been close and she’s always told me about her crushes. You’re my favorite and you make her the happiest I’ve ever seen her. When she was laying on my floor because of your blue hair in October she admitted that she didn’t think she had a chance with you. She thought you were so nice and had so many friends while she was a grouch with five friends and one of those was her brother.” The bell rings bringing Wonpil with a determined look on his face. Jaebeom holds up his hand so he could finish speaking, “You don’t have to believe us on this but we think you are the best Nayeon could have.”

Wonpil pauses to make sure Jaebeom was done and Jeongyeon wouldn’t say anything. He proceeds to launch into a tirade about how deserving Jeongyeon and Nayeon were for each other. “I’ve known Nayeon for three and a half months and I can tell she’s not most pleasant person and most people wouldn’t get along with her. You’ve brought so much good into her life. She’s less grouchy and more friendly, even just in the three weeks you’ve been dating.” He takes a breath, “Honestly I’m glad Jaebeom stopped me from starting my rant right when I got in because I don’t think it would have helped any. I just know I was so angry that you could think you weren’t good enough for Nayeon that I didn’t even think before storming over here.”

Jeongyeon is nearly crying. She aggressively wipes away the few tears that have leaked out. She laughs slightly through her tears, “She’s gonna be so mad you guys made me cry.”

“We were reassuring you about deserving Nayeon!” Jaebeom almost yells. “We didn’t mean to make you cry.”

Once the noise dies down enough for Dowoon to be heard he clears his throat, “I don’t know how much you believe us about everything else. But whether you believe us or not, the best thing you can do is talk to Nayeon about these feelings. If what Jaebeom-hyung said about her thinking the same thing is true, which it probably is, she seems to have the same feelings as you and you need to communicate with each other about it. Stewing in these feelings on your own is not beneficial to anyone.”

Jeongyeon nods and Dowoon sees Brian shoot him a look that tells him that he won’t get out of this discussion later.

Bambam sits up quickly, “Hyung are there anymore appointments tonight?”

Dowoon’s brow furrows in confusion as he checks, “No, but we can’t close in case there are walk-ins.”

“Yeah but Jaebeom-hyung and Brian-hyung can handle walk-ins.” Bambam stands up and pulls Yugyeom with him, “Nayeon needs a few more hours tonight before she will want to take a break which means she’ll need a break in about an hour and a half.” The apprentices cross the shop to Jeongyeon, “I’ve got an idea for me and Gyeom to help you.” They pull Jeongyeon to her feet and pull her from the store calling out a quick “See you tomorrow, hyungs!” as Jeongyeon waves over her shoulder, confusion set on her face.

Jaebeom and Brian look at the door in confusion, “What just happened?”

“I’m really not sure,” Jaebeom says slowly, “Hopefully they’ll tell us tomorrow.”

Wonpil stands up and stretches, “I should get back to Sprout of Heaven. See you tonight Dowoonie!”

Dowoon waves as Wonpil leaves and Jaebeom goes back to his work room to continue working on sketches. With the apprentices gone, Dowoon figures Brian will want to have the discussion now.

“So,” Brian says, taking a seat in the stool Jaebeom had vacated, “how much of that last bit was from experience?”

Dowoon looks down and fidgets with the pen. “Just a little.”

Brian leans on Dowoon’s shoulder, “It’s okay. I still feel like I don’t deserve you sometimes.” Dowoon opens his mouth to protest. “I was going to tell you. At least, I was planning on it. I just feel like you would be happier with someone with less tattoos. You wouldn’t get as many nasty looks and there would be more places you could go.”

“Hyung,” Dowoon drops the pen and ignores it for now, “Your tattoos are what make you unique and I love them. I’m happy with you because I get to talk music with you and you don’t make me feel bad for being quiet or thinking for a long time before answering. And when I do say something dumb you don’t laugh at me but you laugh with me. I don’t care about the nasty looks as long as we can ignore them together.”

Brian shifts up to kiss Dowoon’s cheek and they fall into a comfortable silence. Dowoon opens Instagram to see if Bambam posted anything about what they’re doing with Jeongyeon. He did post 10 minutes ago and Dowoon recognizes the bathroom sink of the apartment Bambam and Yugyeom share with Youngjae. He tips the phone so Brian can see, unsure what the bottles are.

“Ah,” Brian says. “So that’s what they’re doing.”

“Hyung~” Dowoon tries to be cute, “What are they doing?”

Brian, weak for Dowoon’s poor attempts of aegyo, tells him immediately, “That’s hair dye. I bet they’re going back to the blue for Jeongyeon and Bambam is probably bored since it’s been a few months since he last dyed it.”

“Junho-hyung is gonna be so mad at Bambam for using a box dye.” Dowoon smiles. “He was ready to disown Minho for using a box dye once to help Jeongin dye his hair.”

They fall into another comfortable silence. Dowoon looks at Jeongyeon’s and Nayeon’s profiles, looking at their recent date photos. When he gets back to Nayeon’s first post about having a girlfriend, Brian breaks the silence.

“What did Jeongyeon think of Nayeon’s new piercing?”

Dowoon snorts, “She didn’t notice it. Nayeon even asked Jeongyeon to take her measurements.”

“But doesn’t that involve taking a waist measurement?”

“Yep.”

“How did she-?”

“I don’t know but Nayeon did have her shirt off so maybe Jeongyeon was too distracted.”

The rest of the afternoon passes quietly. Brian helps Dowoon get the dimensions of the shop so he can start thinking about how it may need to be divided up in the future for Bambam and Yugyeom to have work rooms. Once Brian goes back to work on his sketches, Dowoon makes a rough blueprint of the shop.

When he is cleaning up for the night and Jaebeom and Brian are leaving their work rooms, the silence is broken by a harsh ringtone. Jaebeom answers and puts the call on speaker so he can continue sweeping for Dowoon. “Hello?”

Instead a return greeting, all that answers him is screaming. Dowoon isn’t sure if it’s Nayeon or Jeongyeon. When the screaming doesn’t seem like it will end anytime soon, Jaebeom simply hangs up.

The next morning, Nayeon and Jeongyeon show up together. Yugyeom smirks seeing Jeongyeon’s blue hair that he had a part in.

“Don’t you two have classes?” Brian asks. His most recent client is paying after two and a half hours.

“Not until this afternoon,” Nayeon answers.

Bambam emerges from Jaebeom’s work room. When Jeongyeon notices him, she nearly shrieks. “I can’t believe you wouldn’t tell me about Nayeon’s new piercing! You were the one who gave it to her!”

He holds up his hands, “Yeah but she swore me to secrecy until she could tell you.”

Dowoon cuts into the conversation, “Jeongyeon, you were the one who didn’t notice it while taking measurements for her.”

Jeongyeon simply ignores him while Nayeon drops her hand and skips over to Dowoon. He directs his attention to Nayeon, unasked question hanging in the air. She leans over the counter to kiss his cheek, causing both Jeongyeon and Brian to yell in protest.

“Thank you,” she whispers in his ear. “Sometimes I forget how mature you are.”

“Stop flirting with my boyfriend!” Brian protests, wrapping Dowoon in a hug and pulling him away from Nayeon.

Jeongyeon wraps her arms around Nayeon pulling her away from the counter, “I’m right here? Why are you flirting in front of me?”

Jaebeom emerges from his work room to check out the source of the commotion. “Oh, it’s you two.” Before he can turn back, Nayeon is tackling him.

A murmured conversation occurs between the siblings before Jaebeom is pushing his sister off his back.

Nayeon grabs her girlfriend’s hand once again tugging her towards the door, “I have to go work on my project! We’re visiting Mom next week so I’ll bring your share of the food Sunday!” The girls wave over their shoulders as they exit the shop and head back towards campus.

“You know,” Brian starts, “for as dramatic as Nayeon is, her relationship really didn’t have a lot of drama.”

“Let’s not speak too soon, she missed Valentine’s Day,” Jaebeom says. “She’s probably going to make Jeongyeon’s birthday a big thing that she gets to go all out for.”


End file.
